


Anything Less

by lifechiaroscuro



Series: Pynch Week 2018 [2]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Christmas In July | Christmas Out Of Season, M/M, Pynch Week 2018, i don't celebrate it but it just popped into my head, idk why, it's - Freeform, maybe b/c it's so hot here i'm longing for winter, the mistletoe is the only christmas reference so it shouldn't be too weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 12:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15412746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifechiaroscuro/pseuds/lifechiaroscuro
Summary: Upon meeting Adam under the mistletoe, Ronan had blurted out, “I’m in love with you,” frozen, then fled the room with a curse.Adam has no idea what to do with that.(My belated fic for Pynch Week Day 2 - "Wait, you've liked mehowlong?")





	Anything Less

Upon meeting Adam under the mistletoe, Ronan had blurted out, “I’m in love with you,” frozen, then fled the room with a curse.

Adam has no idea what to do with that.

He’s certain Ronan hadn't meant to say it. Ronan is not, in general, good with emotions.

But he never lies.

It was amazing, really, how they’d managed to go without talking about it for nearly two months.

This, however, is not how he’d expected them to start. 

 

* * *

 

He doesn't bother knocking, because he doesn't want to know what Ronan would do if he did.

As always, the slight chill of Monmouth’s top floor disappears in Ronan's bedroom. The door is always closed, and the space is relatively small. There's a warmth to the air.

Adam sits at the foot of Ronan's bed. Ronan has evidently decided to pretend Adam isn't there because he doesn't even glance Adam's way. Adam's hand brushes his foot, and his leg kicks involuntarily.

“Fuck,” Adam curses. “Ow.”

Ronan just looks at him defiantly.

Adam stares back, then exhales sharply, looking away. “If we're not just friends, what are we?”

“I’ve liked you for more than a year and I’ve been in love with you for five fucking months, so I -” Ronan breaks off, biting at a wristband before saying more quietly, “We’re whatever you fucking want, Parrish.”

Adam's brain is still processing “five fucking .months”, so what comes out of his mouth is, “Wait, you’ve liked me for how long?”

Ronan scowls, clearly reluctant to continue talking.

“That was around the time I sacrificed myself to Cabeswater,” Adam says. He pauses, then asks, “Did that have something to do with it?”

He’s not sure he wants to know the answer. “Not like that,” Ronan says after a pause. He bites at a wristband again for a second, an uncharacteristically transparent expression of agitation. “Because you were more confident. I think. It definitely fucking wasn't because Cabeswater was in your head. Believe it or not, I’m not exactly thrilled by the idea of a magical forest being involved in my relationships.”

Ronan's arm twitches before he seems to catch himself and forces it still. Adam briefly - absurdly - wonders if Ronan has some kind of oral fixation. It's probably an attempt by his mind to distract him from the intensity of the moment, but his cheeks tint anyways.

“Is that what you want, then?” he asks. It's partly to distract from the slight blush but mostly out of a genuine need to know.

“What else would this be?” Ronan asks like it's blatantly obvious.

Adam looks away. “You saying you love me and then deciding you’ve said too much and freaking out and calling it off.”

It's insecurity as much as honesty, but he feels he owes Ronan the truth. He can't tell Ronan he loves him so he’ll reveal something else instead.

“I wouldn't do that,” Ronan says strongly, a hint of hurt in his voice. “Not to you.”

“I know,” Adam responds with a grimace. “Objectively.”

“Then why would you even say it?” Ronan asks quietly.

“How many times have we gotten into fights because someone has a stupid insecurity or says something stupid?” Adam responds.

There's another moment of silence, then Ronan tells him, “I could try harder. I would try harder if you would too.”

Adam looks back at him again. “Really?”

Ronan smiles weakly, his nervousness surprisingly exposed. “I'm hopelessly in love with you, Parrish. There's a lot I would do.”

“Please stop talking like that,” Adam pleads. “If you keep talking like that I won't be able to give you an answer.”

A small smirk crosses Ronan's face. “If you're waiting for an apology, you're going to be waiting a while.”

His hand is hesitant, though, when he takes one of Adam's and presses a kiss to the palm. “What is your answer?”

“I’d try harder too,” Adam replies quietly. “Did you really think I’d want anything less than what you asked for?”

It's slow when Ronan pulls him down. Their noses brush together and it's Adam who closes the gap. The kiss is slow, and there's a softness and warmth that Adam somehow still didn't expect.

“I don't anymore.”

“Good.”


End file.
